By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The chairman of the Israeli Basketball Federation Amiram Halevi sent a letter to the heads of FIBA World (president Horacio Muratore and general secretary Patrick Baumann) and FIBA Europe, (president Turgay Demirel and Executive Director Kamil Novak) expressing his and his country’s basketball association support for the new system that includes mid-season games of the World Cup Qualifiers.
Halevi also adds that the new system will increase the exposure of the national team, allow more players to wear its jersey and give basketball fans the opportunity to see their team play more often in home games. The letter also adds that the new system is “more convenient for the players”.
This last statement is quite interesting since it arrives only days after an article posted on the official website of the French Players’ Association that speaks against the FIBA calendar.
Halevi’s letter mentions that the Federation will insist on its players participating in the upcoming games for the World Cup qualifiers. If someone doesn’t comply with the rules, he will receive certain sanctions, as dictated by the Federation’s regulations.
More specifically, it’s written that: “Each player who is invited to the national team’s squad must appear to practices and games as the head coach demands!!!.”
Whoever is not following the rules will be, “… sentenced and expelled from the league games. That’s how we acted in the past and so we will act the same in the future.”
While no players that will spend the new season with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the only Israeli EuroLeague team, were invited to the national team for the EuroBasket, this might change ahead of the Qualifiers. It remains to be seen what Maccabi‘s reaction will be on the matter, if and when that happens.
Israel will also miss its natural leader, Omri Casspi since he plays in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors.
Israel competes in Group H and will face Greece, Great Britain, and Estonia. Three teams from each Group advance to the Second Round.